christmas samu't sari

it's three days to go before christmas...

and we still have a lot to do aside from wrapping presents and preparing for noche buena. argh! you see, jude and i made it a practice that every year, particularly during the holiday season, to visit the people who gladly accepted the role of ninong or ninang during our wedding. they are just eight (four pairs) so we think it's feasible that even for a short time we touch base with them personally. it's not for the gifts, okay... we actually prepared a small gift for each of them and we don't expect to have something in return. 

we just firmly believed that the ninong/ninang-inaanak relationship shouldn't stop at the wedding reception. it should be nurtured the same way we nurture friendships because they also play an important role in our life if we just acknowledge it. my project next year is to know our sponsors' birthdays and try my best to send them a gretting card at least.

and talking about friendships... sigh, i miss my friends particularly my close friends who i seldom see these days like rina (hope you're reading this mare), leah, and soulmate (as i call my friend, joy). i tried to schedule a date with each of them but having a little tot around the house makes me so tamad na... oops! hehe. and do you think the fact that we already live in laguna helps? yan ang hirap 'pag promdi. hahaha.

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care to know what's on our table for noche buena?

since jude's parents are staying in hong kong until february, we decided to host this year's noche buena in their house and just go to my folks' place morning of christmas. christmas staples would still be around such as ham, fruit salad, and queso de bola. we will also have spaghetti for noodles and roasted chicken by andok's as the latter is everybody's favorite, including the little boy. i would like to experiment a little and cook something new but it might end up a disaster again so i will just stick with the old recipes like creamy pork with mushroom or tanigue steak until i have mastered it.

gee... the thought of noche buena makes me hungry... off to next topic... =)

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ever wondered what happened to our christmas tree three weeks after i built it?

i could't upload the picture now (i'll try later) but it's a total wreck and have you seen a christmas tree where all of the ornaments were placed only on the upper part while the lower was plain and bald... OURS!

this idea was jude's as he was annoyed by my constant nagging to iñigo that he stop picking the ornaments.

can a toddler and a christmas tree go together inside the house?

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as you know we already live in cabuyao, laguna. but it doesn't stop us in going to metro manila almost every weekend (that's how we love caltex, shell, and petron... hehe) especially this season where almost all of our activities is ncr-bound. slex and south superhighway is becoming a second home to us as we often find ourselves caught in heavy traffic in these major thoroughfares. and should i say that traffic these days is a horror story for every commuter and motorist. JOSKO DAY!

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this is the 3rd christmas for jude and i as a married couple and the 2nd time we will be celebrating the season with iñigo. i look forward to iñigo unwrapping his own gifts and making a big "wow" seeing the things he received for himself. for next year i expect that he'll have a slight idea of who santa claus is and the year after that he will hang his own sock (as what i used to do when i was a kid) and wish that santa will fill it with candies and the toy he wished. if three christmases ago jude and i spent our time and money unwantonly because it's THAT time of the year then a lot of things changed now.

christmas becomes really more meaningful now that we are a parent we discern the things that really matter to us as we know that there's one soul who is about to learn the true meaning of christmas aside from presents and santa claus. amid the fun and the material things that christmas brings it's always the love and the family ties that will always complete the day.